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Oral history interview with Irina Francis

 Collection
Identifier: SR12277

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Irina Francis was conducted by Katy Weaver on November 15, 2017. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. In this interview, Francis discusses her education in linguistics and international communication in Russia, and her marriage to Scott Francis. She describes her early life in Perm, Russia, during the Soviet era, including the diverse neighborhood she grew up in, hiding her Christianity, and her family life. She talks about her education in Russia, including bullying she experienced and her love of languages. She discusses the process of getting a fiancé visa, immigrating to the United States, and adjusting to life in Portland, Oregon. She also talks about traveling back to Russia to visit family. She describes job-hunting as an immigrant, dealing with stereotypes and discrimination, and her home life. She closes the interview by talking about her cultural and ethnic identity and her plans for the future.

Dates

  • 2017 November 15

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Irina Francis was born in Perm, Russia, in 1982. She got a master’s degree in linguistics and international communication from the Perm State Technical University in 2004. She met Scott Francis, a United States citizen, while working for a German company, and they married in 2010. The couple lives in Portland, Oregon, and Francis is a graphic artist.

Extent

42.7 Megabytes (1 online resource (1 audio file (1 hr., 30 min., 53 sec.))) : MPEG-4

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Oral history interview with Irina Francis conducted by Katy Weaver on November 15, 2017, for The Immigrant Story. Francis grew up in Soviet Russia and immigrated to the United States in the 2010s.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of The Immigrant Story, July 2020 (Lib. Acc. RL2020-018).

Publication note

An article about Irina Francis, "To Portland, from Russia, for Love" by Katy Weaver, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/russia/

Creator

Title
Guide to oral history interview with Irina Francis
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Stroman
Date
2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240